Beyond Priests contends that the requirements of the clerical priesthood of the Catholic Church-that all priests must be male, and that all priests must be celibate-is a gross distortion of scripture and the churchs early history that must be changed. While the roots of the modern priesthood go back to the fourth century and even more remotely to the presbyters or elders who advised local bishops in the early church, the contemporary priestly model is very much the product of seventeenth-century French reformers acting to apply a 1563 decree on the priesthood of the Council of Trent. The present-day priestly model has increasingly become harmful, even toxic, not only to priests themselves, but to the ministry and the Catholic community. Based on the historical analysis, Beyond Priests outlines a whole new way of approaching ministry and leadership that is in tune with contemporary needs, is inclusive of women and men, and is more authentically derived from the New Testament and the early church.
Paul Collins is a broadcaster, historian, and writer with nearly forty years of experience in radio and television. He has worked in various capacities, including as a producer, correspondent, and commentator on TV and radio channels in Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Collins has contributed to channels such as the BBC, NPR, Sky TV News, and Al-Jazeera network. He covered two papal elections in 2005 and 2013 for ABC, SBS, and the Seven Network. Collins has also taught church history, theology, and ministry in Australia, the United States, and several Pacific countries, having served as director of the Weber Center in Adrian, Michigan, lectured in Australian history at the University of Papua New Guinea, and worked as a parish priest in Sydney, Canberra, Launceston, and Hobart. With seventeen books in print, including Absolute Power: How the Pope Became the Most Influential Man in the World (2018), The Birth of the West: Rome, Germany, France, and the Creation of Europe in the Tenth Century (2013), and Judgment Day: The Struggle for life on Earth (2010) Collins is a prolific writer. He has also contributed articles to many of Australias leading newspapers and magazines, as well as to international publications like the London Tablet, the National Catholic Reporter in the US, and magazines across Germany, Austria, and Italy.
ONE - The Problem of Clericalism
TWO - Priesthood from the New Testament to the Reformation
THREE - Origins of the Present Model of the Priesthood Part 1: CELIBACY, THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AND PIERRE DE BERULLE
FOUR - Origins of the Present Model of the Priesthood, Part 2. JEAN-JACQUES OLIER AND LOUIS TRONSON
FIVE - A New Interpretation of Ministry. John N. Collins on Diakonia
